Hackers can trick Wi-Fi devices into draining their own batteries

Wi-Fi devices acknowledge each other, even when not connected to the same network, and hackers can exploit this to drain their batteries



Technology



9 January 2023

Wi-Fi-enabled security cameras could be vulnerable to attack

Shutterstock/APChanel

Devices that use Wi-Fi can be tricked into draining their own batteries, thanks to a quirk in the way that wireless networks operate. Security experts say that although the ability seems innocuous at first glance, it could be exploited to take out security cameras, or form part of a coordinated attack with other vulnerabilities.

Ali Abedi at Stanford University in California and his colleagues have discovered a phenomenon that they call “polite Wi-Fi”, in which devices acknowledge and reply to messages from …

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